(Canberra/Australia) – The Australian renewable energy agency ARENA (Australian Renewable Energy Agency) is funding three new hydrogen projects with a total of 103,3 million Australian dollars (66 million euros). Engie Renewables Australia Pty Ltd, the Australian subsidiary of the French energy group Engie SA, will receive $42,5 million for a ten megawatt electrolyser to produce renewable hydrogen and ammonia at the Karratha site of the fertilizer manufacturer Yara Pilbara Fertilisers in Western Australia. The electricity required for this is generated using photovoltaics and used off-grid using battery storage.
The first phase of the project will produce up to 2023 tonnes of renewable hydrogen and 625 tonnes of renewable ammonia per year from 3.700. This would be key to a “Pilbara Hydrogen Hub”, the company says. Yara employs around 17.000 people in more than 60 countries worldwide.
Pilbara is a sparsely populated and very dry region between the Indian Ocean to the north and the Great Sandy Desert to the south. Just over six months ago, the central government under Liberal Prime Minister Scott Morrison already had another one Hydrogen projects awarded major project status in the Pilbara. The initiators want to build one of the world's largest wind and solar projects there for 36 billion Australian dollars (25,6 billion euros) with an initial installed capacity of 15 gigawatts in order to use a large portion of the electricity to produce green hydrogen for the domestic and export market to use.
Gas network operator wants to feed hydrogen into natural gas pipelines
Another recipient of funding is Australian Gas Networks Limited (AGN). ARENA is supporting the operator of natural gas pipelines and distribution networks with $32,1 million. AGN wants to install a ten megawatt electrolyser in its “Murray Valley Hydrogen Park”. The plant is scheduled to go into operation in 2023 and will then add hydrogen produced from renewable energies to the existing natural gas network. This funding also benefits Engie. The group is working on this project together with AGN's parent company Australian Gas Infrastructure Group (AGIG), which in turn belongs to the Hong Kong-based conglomerate CK Infrastructure Holdings.
ATCO Australia Pty Ltd also receives funding. 28,7 million dollars were approved for the construction of a ten megawatt electrolyser in its “Clean Energy Innovation Park” (CEIP). ATCO is again working with AGIG on this project. The natural gas distribution network operator wants to produce up to 4,6 tons of green hydrogen there every day, using electricity from the 180 megawatt wind farm near Warradarge, Western Australia, which went into operation in October 2020. The hydrogen is transported by truck to entry points in the gas network. 
In addition, three hydrogen filling stations are to be built. A feasibility study was carried out last year. The ARENA financing will enable further planning work, with a final investment decision expected to be made in December 2021, the company said.
The ATCO Group also maintains business relationships with the Australian mining multinational Fortescue Metals Group. Together they want to investigate the potential for building an infrastructure for refueling hydrogen vehicles. Fortescue founder Andrew Forrest announced plans in November 2020 to build power plants worldwide to use renewable energies with an output of 235 gigawatts want to build in order to produce green hydrogen and ammonia with the electricity.
Funding framework increased
Engie, ATCO and AGIG now have to make a number of additional advance payments and, among other things, secure the financing of their projects before the funding is released. In order to support all of these projects, ARENA increased the funding framework from the original $70 million by $33,3 million. In total, these three projects have a cumulative value of $161 million.
Last year, ARENA called for the development of plans for hydrogen projects on a commercial scale as part of a financing round (“Renewable Hydrogen Deployment Funding Round”). The Energy Agency then received 36 expressions of interest from across Australia, shortlisted seven projects and invited companies to submit their applications. After an extensive evaluation process, these three projects were selected for funding.
“Our hydrogen industry in Australia is still in its infancy, so the lessons learned from these three projects – and the overall funding round – are important to drive our future hydrogen economy,” said agency chief executive Darren Miller. “With more than $100 million in funding, we hope to build some of the largest hydrogen electrolyzers in the world, with the aim of reducing the cost of green hydrogen.” ARENA has been active in this segment since 2016 and already has more than 57 Millions of dollars have been allocated for this purpose, including $22,1 million for 16 research projects as well as feasibility studies for large-scale projects and smaller demonstrations addressing renewable hydrogen production, power-to-gas and hydrogen mobility.
deep link
https://arena.gov.au/news/over-100-million-to-build-australias-first-large-scale-hydrogen-plants/
https://www.agig.com.au/media-release—new-hydrogen-blending-project
https://engie.com.au/news/australian-government-confirms-funding-for-engies-hydrogen-projects-in-victoria-and-western-australia/
https://www.atco.com/en-au/about-us/stories/atco-arena-funding-green-funding.html
Photo above
Engie wants to produce green ammonia with Yara Pilbara Fertilizers / © Engie
Class schedule
Presentation of ATCO's plans for the development of the “Clean Energy Innovation Park” (CEIP) / © ATCO
